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?M. F... OONNE'T'T. Baling-Pre ss.

No. 224,655; Patented Feb.-17, 1880..

imessas I I I INVENTOR N.PETERS. FHOTO-LITQQGHAPHER; WASHINGTON. D C.

To all whom it may concern:

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MATTHEWF. CONNETT, or LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS.

BALlNG-PRESS.

, SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 224,655, dated February 17, 1880.

Application filed October 4,1879.

Be it known that I, MATTHEW F. GONN'ETT, of Little Rock, in the county of Pulaski and State of Arkansas, have invented a new and valuable Improvement in Baling-Presses; and 1 do hereby declare that the following is a ful], clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings,n1aking a part of this specification, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a representation of a side elevation of my improved balingpress, and Fig. 2 isa top view thereof.

This invention hasrelation to improvements in hay and cotton presses; and the nature of the invention consists in a shell or sleeve applied upon the main driving-shaft of the press, to which the ropes operating the followers are secured, and which may be connected to and disconnected from said shaft at pleasure, whereby the followers may be run back without reversing the driving mechanism or power.

It also consists in certain novel means whereby one of the followers may be worked to the exclusion of the other, thus converting the moving follower into a packer.

It also consists in certain other useful improvements whereby the press is greatly improved, as will be hereinafter fully shown and described.

In the annexed drawings, the letters A A A designate the transverse sills of my improved press, braced together by the beams B, upon which are erected the upright posts 13. The posts B support a horizontal floor, at the middle portion of which is the cotton-box O, having open ends, and provided with the followers D D. The upper end of box 0 is closed by means of doors, one covering the major portion of the box and the other the remainder, the said doors being fastened down,

in pressin g, by means of rods extending through staples attached to the sides of the box and projecting through slots in the doors. I may, however, use other means for holding them closed.

Gr G and G G designate compound or toggle-jointed levers, pivoted at one end to the followers D D and at the other to the end of the frame. 'When these levers are straightened out the followers approach each other and compress any fibrous substance placed in the box between them. At the lateral joints of these leversare arranged the pulleys b b. The operating cords or chains 0 are secured to the frame at one end, extend to and pass around pulleys b, thence back around pulleys b, and their remaining ends are carried to and attached to a sleeve, E, arranged upon a vertical shaft, F, arranged at the side of the box and rotated by suitable machinery.

Sleeve E rotates upon the shaft F independently thereof, and carries at its upper end a clutch-head, c, and a ratchet-wheel, c, that is engaged by alever-pawl, cl, having its fulcrum on the offset N, in which the shaft F has its bearings, and controlled by a suitable spring, (1. The shaft F, which is endwise movable in its bearings, has a counterpart clutch-head, e, engaging clu tch-head c, and disengaged therefrom by means of a vertically-vibratin g lever, f, the forked end of which is received under a collar, j", on the upper end of the said shaft.

If rotary motion be imparted to shaft F, the heads 0 0 being engaged, the followers will be approximated simultaneously, owing to the winding of the cords or chains 0 upon'the sleeve E, and the material between the followers will be compressed. When the lever-pawl cl is disengaged from the ratchet c and the clutch-head e raised by its lever f out of engagement with the head 0, the sleeve being thus released and allowed to rotate on shaft F, the followers will be retracted automatically and without reversing the driving machinery by means of the weights to, suspended by the cords g, secured at one end to the followers and passing over the pulleys g at the ends of the frame. The head ois held away from head 0 by engaging the end of its lever f with a catch or holder, 9

The shaft F is provided with a pulley, E, that is connected to apulley, H, upon a shaft, 1, having its bearings in an offset at one side of the main shaft, by means of an endless belt, J. p

Shaft I has upon its upper end a horizontal crankwheel, K, having a wrist-pin, h, and connected to the toggle-jointed levers G G by means of a-rod, L. This rod is pivoted to the elbow or joint of the said levers, and is' provided at its end adjacent to the crank-Wheel K with a slot, 1', designed to receive the Wrist-pin h. The connecting-rod may be lifted out of engagement with the pin it and engaged therewith at pleasure.

The operation of the press is as follows: Close the large door and open the small one next the follower I), and then disconnect the clutch-heads c 0. This releases the sleeve E and allows shaft F to rotate without actuating it. Then engage the slotted end of rod L with the wrist-pin of the wheel K and start the motor. The winding-sleeve will remain stationary and the cords or chains will not affect the followers D D, but the former will receive a rapid reciprocating motion from the shaft F through the medium of pulleys H H, belt J, crank-Wheel, and connecting-rod or pitman K L. Now introduce the cotton into the box 0 through the small opening left by the small door in its top. As the substance to be baled is introduced into the box 0 it will be neatly and expeditiously packed by the successive impact of the follower-D without being trampled down. When there is enough material in the box 0, close the small door, disconnect the pitman, if desired,

re-engage the clutch-heads, and start the machinery. The sleeve E now rotates with the shaft F, Winds up the cords 0, and actuates the followers simultaneously to compress the already packed cotton or other substance. The bagging is now folded around the compressed mass and the ties applied, the clutch-heads disconnected, and the pawl-lever disengaged from the ratchet, when the followers recede from each other and allow the bale to be re moved from the press.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,-is-

1. In a baling-press, the combination, with the cotton-box O, the followers D D, and the toggle-jointed levers G G and G G, having the pulleys 7; b, of the winding ropes 0, secured to the frame at one side, passing around pulley b, thence backward around pulley b, and secured to a winding-drum, substantially as specified.

2. The combination, with the cotton-box O, the followers D D, the toggle-jointed levers G G G G, and the winding ropes O, of the rotary shaft F, having endwise movement in its bearings and provided with the clutchhead 6, the sleeve E, rotating on said shaft and having the clutch-head 0, and the springcontrolled lever at, substantially as specified.

3. The combination, with the cotton-box O, followers D D, toggle-jointed levers G G, and winding ropes O, of the endwise-movable rotary shaft F, the sleeve E, rotating on said shaft and connected therewith by a clutch mechanism, 0 e, pulley H on shaft F, the shaft I, having pulley H and crank-wheel K, the

endless belt J and the pitman L, having slot t", substantially as specified.

In testimony that I claim the above I have hereunto subscribed my name in the presence of two witnesses.

MATTHEW I OONNEIT.

Witnesses:

CHARLES E. KIDDER, D. J. MY'IINGER. 

